


Let's Play a Game

by EclipseOfTheWild



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, But not used in the way you might think, Fluff and Angst, Halloween, Linktober, Majora's Mask
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 08:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21250196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclipseOfTheWild/pseuds/EclipseOfTheWild
Summary: Wind, excited for Halloween, requests a mask from Wild for his costumeBut when night falls, things take a darker turn





	Let's Play a Game

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween you guys! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Without further ado
> 
> Day 31: Halloween!

“So what’s this Halloween thing you’ve been talking about, Wild?” Wind asked, sitting next to him as he cooked dinner.

“Oh! Well, it’s a bit of a tradition in my Hyrule.” Wild explained, “Basically on Halloween a lot of people tend to dress up in costumes or masks and have parties and such.”

The younger boy grinned, “Sounds fun! Can we celebrate Halloween?!”  
“Well, I don’t see why not.” Wild shrugged, making Wind bounce up and down in excitement, “If you look in my Sheikah Slate, you might be able to scrape together some kind of costume.”

Immediately, he grabbed the Sheikah Slate, opening up its inventory and scrolling through the clothes. There were some earrings, outfits that wouldn’t fit him, some cool looking headpieces, and some questionable clothes he would ask Wild about later.

Finally, he stumbled upon what he was looking for; the creepy mask that Wild had shown off that one night. The description on it said it was ‘Majora’s Mask’. Smiling, Wind selected it, and it popped into existence on his lap.

“You like that one, huh?” The older boy glanced at his costume choice, the islander nodding excitedly, “Just make sure to return it after Halloween, okay?”

“Got it!”

Wind ran off with the mask clutched firmly in his hand. 

It was going to be a fun night tomorrow!

“What’ve you got there, Wind?” Warriors inquired, ruffling the younger boy’s hair.

Wind smiled, lifting up the object for him to see, “Wild gave it to me for Halloween!”

“Isn’t that the creepy mask he showed us that one night?” 

“Yep!” He nodded, still smiling.

Warriors grimaced slightly, “Well as long as you don’t go scaring me with it, then have fun.”

“Aw, is big brother scared of a little wooden mask?” Wind teased.

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

Time cut in, “Alright, knock it off you two.” He looked amused, “Dinner’s almost ready.”

The younger boy cheered, leaving the mask by his bedroll before dashing over to the campfire where the others had already gathered.

Wild handed him a steaming plate of meat and rice as he sat down, making him grin. Dinnertime was always good ever since Wild had joined the group. Before that…well…that was a time he didn’t want to think about.

It was surprisingly quiet as the Links ate, but nobody was really complaining. It had been a long day, so it was nice to have some peace, at least for a while. 

Wind scraped the last of his food off of his plate, setting it aside. He yawned, stretching his arms high above him.

“You tired, Wind?” Warriors asked, smiling gently.

He nodded slowly, “Yeah, I think I’m going to bed you guys.” Wind rose from his seat, padding across the grass to his bedroll, where he promptly collapsed.

Smiling, he closed his eyes, finding sleep easily, even in his excitement. He couldn’t wait for Halloween; it was going to be so much fun, especially since he had a costume now. Just before he fell to sleep, his fingers brushed the wood of Majora’s Mask.

The large yellow eyes of the mask gleamed in the moonlight.

Wind’s eyes snapped open, squinting at the darkness. The stars were dim, and the moon was nowhere to be seen. Not even the sun was peeking over the horizon. Pushing himself up, he glanced around the camp. Everyone was sleeping peacefully, the fire reduced to embers; the air was still, everything was quiet. 

For whatever reason, his eyes drifted down to the spot next to him, where the mask was supposed to be laying. To his surprise, where it once sat was simply an empty patch of grass. It was gone. Had someone stolen it? Wind quietly snuck over to Legend’s sleeping form, peeking into his bag just in case, since he knew the other boy liked to mess with them sometimes.

No mask. 

Slinking back to his bedroll, he bit his lip. What was he going to tell Wild? That some savage animal stole it in the middle of the night? Sighing, he reached next to him and pulled his boots on his feet, grabbing his pirate’s charm. 

He’d go look for it, hopefully it was just nearby. 

Wind left the camp, taking care to not disturb any of the other Links as he went. The group had made camp just on the edge of a dark forest, Twilight having scouted it for any monster camps beforehand. As far as they knew, it was safe for the night.

He wandered past the tree line, trying to spot the colorful mask in the darkness. It was oddly silent in the forest, not even crickets could be heard chirping. Wind continued on, trying not to stray too far from camp, but covering as much ground as possible.

A laugh suddenly echoed through the trees. The young hero’s head whipped around, trying to identify the source of the noise. It was as if it was coming from everywhere, surrounding him.

Shaking his head, he continued his trek; he was probably just imagining things.

Yet even as time went on, and as he walked further, that strange, haunting, almost childlike giggle continued to follow him, sending shivers down his spine. A few times, Wind could’ve sworn he saw a flash of color, but nothing was ever there when he looked.

He finally sighed, turning back towards camp. He’d just tell Wild that he lost it in the morning and hopefully they could find it when it was light out. 

It didn’t take long to reach camp; he hadn’t strayed too far, after all.

It was quiet again. The laughter had disappeared, but something felt wrong. He scanned the area, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, before Wind’s eyes widened with shock. Everyone was gone. Their bedrolls were empty, but the land was undisturbed, not a single thing was missing or out of place except for the other heroes.

Where could they have gone? And why hadn’t they taken any of their things with them?

He was snapped out his thoughts by a bone chilling scream coming from beyond the trees.

Wind recognized it immediately. How could he not? It was the scream of one of his companions, someone he saw as his brother.  
It was Warriors’ scream.

Wasting no time, he snatched his sword from next to his bedroll, running back into the woods. This time, the forest seemed to be alive, somehow, like the trees were going to jump out and grab at him, like the grass under his feet was gripping his feet as he passed by.

“Warriors! Where are you?!” Wind shouted, nearly tripping on a large, fallen branch as he frantically dashed between the trees.

Shadows stretched across the ground, the trees, everything that his eyes could see. The laughter returned, taunting him with that infuriating giggle. He did his best to ignore it as he pushed on. Wind could investigate later once he knew that everyone was safe.

He finally reached a clearing, a strange light seeming to emanate from it. Wind cautiously ventured into the opening, looking around, sword gripped tightly in his hands as he moved forwards. A figure was standing on the other side of the clearing, arms dangling limply as it stared at him.

“…Warriors? Is that you?” Wind called, still holding his blade in front of him.

The figure stumbled closer, slowly coming into view. It was whispering, so quiet, but its words reached his ears.

“Wind…Wind…Wind…” It groaned, a hand feebly reaching out for him.

Wind’s eyes widened in horror; blonde hair was matted with blood, a deep blue scarf wrapped around its- _his_ neck, ripped and torn, eyes dead and dull. A sword was sticking out from his chest, red staining his tunic.

“Wind…” Warriors gripped the younger’s shoulders tightly, too tightly, “Wind…Wind…Please…”

He tried to pull away, but the other’s grip was too strong.

“Kill me…Wind…”

He ripped himself out of his older brother’s hold, scrambling backwards, running back into the forest. Wind didn’t know how long he ran for, just wanting to get away from Warriors. Eventually he slid to a stop, shakily gasping for air, leaning on a nearby tree.

The laughing had stopped again.

Apprehensive, he glanced around him, looking for any sign of danger. From what he saw, he was alone, with only the cold of the night to keep him company. Standing tall, Wind continued through the woods, sword drawn.

He saw the familiar glow of a campfire ahead. Hoping it was the others, he followed the light. There crouched over a small fire was Wild. His hair was down, disheveled and messy, and he appeared to be muttering to himself.

“Burn, it’s burning, so pretty…” He whispered, his hand ghosting over the fire.

Wind stepped on a small stick, making it snap with a loud crack. Immediately, Wild’s head whipped around to look at the intruder. The older boy’s appearance made Wind step backwards.

His eyes were alight with insanity; the tips of his fingers were an angry red, as if he had touched the fire. He was drooling, which seemed to have either escaped his notice, or he simply did not care, and Wild’s blue champion’s tunic was partially burnt away.

“Fire…pretty, burn everything…do you burn?” He tilted his head at Wind.

“Wild? What’s wrong with you?” The younger boy continued to back away.

“Do you burn?” Wild didn’t move from where he sat, “Burn…burn.”

Wind turned tail and ran away from the crazed boy, ignoring the shouts that followed him.

_’What was happening to everyone?’_

Wind finally felt he had gotten far enough to slow down, opting to walk and catch his breath.

A low growl reached Wind’s ears, making him jump slightly. He squinted, trying to see through the dark, only to see a glowing pair of yellow eyes staring back.

Then, something leaped at him, knocking him to the ground, sending his sword skittering away. Wind felt claws dig into his shoulders, making him cry out in pain. Standing over him was a large wolf, teeth bared.

The fur was familiar, though, and the faintly glowing markings on its forehead looked just like…Twi’s. Did something happen to him, too? Wind lifted his hands up, forcefully pushing the wolf off of him, running away once again.

His sword was left behind, abandoned in the undergrowth.

The wolf- Twilight- was hot on his heels. Wind’s heart was pounding, breath short and ragged. He didn’t know where he was going; he just had to keep away from the wolf. The end of the trees was just ahead of him, and he pushed himself onwards.

As Wind broke through the trees, he skidded to a stop. Standing ten feet in front of him was none other than Sky. 

Sky with bright, orange eyes and a creepy smile on his face. The Master Sword was drawn, gripped loosely in his hand, the very tip of the blade touching the ground. Wind immediately turned back, only to see the wolf right behind him.

On either side of him, more Links emerged.

Legend was on the right, face and hands dripping with what appeared to be...red paint? Yet some of it was just a shade darker, just a bit too crimson. His eyes were foggy, almost like he was dreaming.

Hyrule was on the left, fire and lightning crackled menacingly around him, expression blank. His sword was held aloft, channeling power through it.

Then someone appeared from behind Sky.

Wind saw the round, yellow eyes first. They almost seemed to glow in the darkness. Then the colorful face came into view. It was…

Majora’s Mask. 

But the mask seemed to have developed a body of sorts, with long tendrils for hands.

It giggled, “This is fun! I like playing with you!”

“Playing…? This isn’t a game! Did you do something to my friends??” He shouted angrily, slowly inching forward due to the wolf just behind him.

“Friends? Your friends aren’t here! Only my friends!” The mask tilted its head, “Don’t you want to be my friend, too?”

Wind glared, “I don’t know what you did to them, but I’d never be friends with someone who does something like this to my friends!”

It somehow looked almost sad as it stared at him, “The other one said that, too, he didn’t play with me…”

“Who…?” He gasped as a limp body was thrown on the ground in front of Sky, whose grin grew wider.

It was…Four. 

“I don’t like it when they won’t play with me.”

Blood stained the green grass below Four as he lay, unmoving. Wind rushed to his side, ignoring the danger. Eyes widened as he realized that the other boy wasn’t breathing. Was he…? 

He checked Four’s pulse. 

Nothing. 

Hands shook, “No!” Wind screamed, “Four, wake up, please! Four!” He didn’t move.

Majora’s Mask walked forward, until it was standing over him, “You won’t play with me, so you’ll have to die, too.” It raised its long, tendril of an arm to strike.

A blade came into Wind’s sight, sticking out of the monstrous mask’s chest. It froze, looking down. The weapon was removed and the mask fell to the ground, its body fading to dust. Standing in its place was a large man with long, silver hair. 

The markings on his face were startlingly familiar, along with the armor and even his face.

He looked just like Time, he realized. Though at the same time, he was so…_different_.

His glowing, white eyes stared harshly down at Wind, “You fool; you did this.”

“What? I didn’t do this, it was the mask!” 

“You set it free; you are not free of sin.” The man’s strange sword was placed at his throat, “You must pay for what became of these lost souls.”

The other heroes started calling out from around him, “He must pay…kill him…he must die.”

The man raised his sword, face impassive, and swung it downwards, right onto his head.

Wind shot up, eyes wide, gasping for air. He looked down at himself. Why wasn’t he dead? A flash of color caught his eye, he turned his head slightly, only to see Majora’s Mask sitting next to him. Immediately he picked it up and threw it away from him in terror.

“Wind?” A voice called.

It was Warriors. 

The young sailor jumped out of his bedroll, backing up quickly away from the source of the voice. He shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see what became of his brother. Two hands gripped his shoulders, but they were gentle.

“Wind, are you okay? Talk to me.” Warriors’ voice was soft, comforting. 

He cracked an eye open, only to see the older boy, completely unscathed. Without another thought, Wind launched himself forward, right into the other’s chest, hugging him tightly.

“You’re okay…thank Hylia you’re okay.”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Confusion was evident in Warriors’ tone.

The younger boy looked up at him, “Because you were-“ He stopped, “You were dead…but you were…alive and it was scary and I didn’t know what to do and then everyone else was acting so strange and then Four was-“

Warriors pulled him closer, silencing his rambling, “It’s okay, Wind, it was just a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yeah, but you’re okay now, we’re all okay, I promise.” Wind nodded into his chest, his face buried into his blue scarf.

They didn’t notice the strange figure watching them from the tree line, a colorful mask covering their face.

They giggled, “Happy Halloween, friend. I had fun playing with you.”


End file.
